Black Swan
Hayley Stone
Each day more feathers
sprout across her shoulders
and spread
down
into the valley
of her lower back, vanes
hatching, a spiny thicket
crusted in dead skin, the ash
of old life
perching
on new.
Blame the witch, the brew—
blame the moon, its reflection shivering
on the cold skillet of the lake.
She is leaving you
behind, either way.
Hayley Stone is a writer, editor, and poet from Northern California. She is the author of the sci-fi novel, Machinations, which was chosen as an Amazon Best Sci-fi & Fantasy Book of the Year for 2016. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in Fireside Magazine, New Myths Magazine, and various anthologies, with new poetry coming out in Wild Musette and Star*Line later in the year. Find her at www.hnstoneauthor.com and on Twitter @hayley_stone.